St Thomas Diving - Underwater Safari

[islandmon]

Caldivegirl
I put a message here about a few month back about how bad under water safaris was but some of these expert on this site said I didnot know what I was talking about. Now here is another accident because some people donot know when to shut up.

Islandmon

 

[caldivergirl]

Caldivegirl
I put a message here about a few month back about how bad under water safaris was but some of these expert on this site said I didnot know what I was talking about. Now here is another accident because some people donot know when to shut up.

Islandmon

Well I guess the woman is ok since I haven't seen any death reports. But making these events known is the only way we can protect ourselves as divers. When cruise ships and hotels recommend a shop, they should pay more attention to their practices.

 

[jonesbf]

I was with Underwater Safaris 4/8 from the Eurodam. We had 30 divers from both the ship and the Marriot dock pickup. There were three groups of ten in the water. They assigned buddies to those of us who didn't have them with us. I felt the ratio was a little diver heavy, but they seemed very professional and there were no incidents. We had two enjoyable dives (both around 40-45 min) off Buck island. The surface interval was right at 30 minutes. They did roll calls and head counts after each dive. They kept tabs on everyone's air. They did, however, skip the safety stops on both dives and surprisingly so did everyone but else besides myself.

 

[BDeddens]

The woman mentioned in previous posts was fine in the end and insisted that she need not see a local physician or be taken in for emergency care. She was brought to the ship's physician via wheel chair where she was determined to be in in good shape. That being said, cruise lines hold tour operators to fairly strict standards and enforce these by "secret shopping" and other methods. Having worked with cruise lines for many years, Underwater Safaris has established itself as a reliable and safe operation in St. Thomas. Adhering to strict standards has resulted in few incidents over the years and a maximum ratio of 10:1 is certainly not unheard of and, in fact, quite common.

"islandmon" - I have reviewed your previous post about a disappointing experience with Underwater Safaris. I am sorry that you were not happy with the Discover Scuba Dive but you have to understand that the tour you participated in is not a certification course and is under time restrictions. If Discover Scuba Divers cannot demonstrate the skills required to complete the Open Water dive portion of the tour (e.g. mask clearing) than the instructor is obligated to return them to the boat. I'm not sure what the problem was with the mouthpiece but we typically have plenty of extra gear on board for those types of situations. I hope that you were able to complete the DSD in the end and have had some pleasant diving experiences, Underwater Safaris would appreciate the opportunity to take you diving again.

 

[nouse4name]

what a bunch on nit-picking....if your certified, find yourself a buddy and don't rely on a dive guide--which is their role to guide you on a reef-- to wipe your ***. you sign a liability release form that if you would read it, states your responsible for yourself. short dive? so what...you went diving...and if your worried about time or money then ur not a true diver...

 

[marcaumarc]

I think there will always be high-volume dive shops that can't offer the same level of service as smaller operations that are more focused on personal service.

In a perfect world, every certified diver would be competent diving autonomously and large customer to divemaster/instructor ratios would be no big deal. Unfortunately, the vast majority of divers dive infrequently and often never developed good skills to begin with. Since this is true, diving with large groups is more likely to result in an inferior experience for experienced divers and more of a safety risk for poor divers, than if they were diving in a smaller group.

Which is not to say that dive operators who take out larger groups are unsafe or unethical, because I don't think that's true. I think it would be better to focus on the objective facts about a dive operation, like DM to customer ratio, rather than individual incidents. Should a certified diver have a runaway ascent? No, and a DM can't always prevent it. If you're diving with a large group, is it more likely that something (even just other divers going through their air quickly) is going to potentially impact your dive? Sure.

 

[caldivergirl]

Thank you all for your replies to this topic. As I am thinking of returning to Frenchman's Reef next winter, I am glad to hear that Marriott has now authorized a dive shop that provides more personalized service. When I requested a recommendation, I did tell that that I was looking for more personalized service, but I do not recall them recommending any shop other than Underwater Safaris. Having had the pleasure of engaging small shops previously, I had not had the cattle boat experience. And I know now that, for all the reasons above, it is not to my taste.

 

[Beecher]

Nothing new from Underwater Safari in St.Thomas.

They have a history of poor customer service and dives.


http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/lesser-antilles/316303-underwater-safari-avoid-dive-shop-st-thomas.html


.

 

[accel_scuba]

I'm heading down in two weeks -- staying at the Marriott and diving with Blue Water divers. I'll post a review when I return. But, so far they seem very accommodating and will pick me up from the Frenchman's Reef dock.

 

[accel_scuba]

I'm heading down in two weeks -- staying at the Marriott and diving with Blue Water divers. I'll post a review when I return. But, so far they seem very accommodating and will pick me up from the Frenchman's Reef dock.

Just an FYI.... I'm still heading down in 2 weeks, and still planning to dive with Blue Island Divers. Just got an email from them saying that the Marriott's insurance carrier is now restricting the Marriott from allowing any dive ops from using their dock -- as diving is a 'high risk sport.' The Marriott was no help when I called, but confirmed the info. I have a call into a friend who is an exec at Marriott to see what's going on.

BTW, BID couldn't have been more kind in their email. They assured me that they will find some way to get me from/to the hotel if this isn't resolved.